Point-of-sale promotions

ABSTRACT

A method and a system to publish a promotion at a point-of-sale are provided. For example, a preliminary selection associated with a purchase from a user may be received. A promotion may be published to the user at a point-of-sale associated with the purchase after the user makes the preliminary selection and before the user finalizes the purchase. The promotion may be based on at least one attribute of past transactions and the preliminary selection.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/643,577 filed Dec. 21, 2006 entitled “Point-of-SalePromotions,” which claims the priority benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/803,113, filed May 24, 2006, both applications beingincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to the technical field ofnetwork-based data systems and, in one specific example, to a method andsystem of offering feature promotions via a promotion application.

BACKGROUND

In electronic marketplace applications, promotions often entice users tomake a purchase that they otherwise may not. Further, promotions oftenentice users to try a product or service that they might not otherwisetry. In many cases, the users try the product or service and becomeloyal consumers, thereby increasing revenue for the electronicmarketplace.

Often there are many promotions available to a user at any given time.When the user has the option to pick and choose from a set of manypromotions, the selection process is time consuming, and potentiallyconfusing. Some of the promotions may not be relevant to a particularuser, and the user takes additional time to sort through the promotionsto determine which ones are relevant. For users that have many purchasesto make, for instance, the time it takes to sort through the promotionsmay be too long, and the user may lose interest in the current purchase.Also, if there are too many promotions, the user may feel overwhelmed bythe experience, or perhaps confused by apparent conflicting oroverlapping offers, and lose interest in the current purchase. In theseinstances, the promotions may actually negatively impact revenue for theelectronic marketplace, due to the reduced potential purchases. The useralso may be discouraged from purchasing from this site in the future,due to the length of time the process took.

Further, promotions are often applied consistently for each eligibleuser. However, users that would have made a particular purchaseregardless of the associated promotion yields a promotion with apotential negative revenue impact.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation inthe figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a network diagram depicting a system, according to anexample embodiment, having a client-server architecture.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram showing marketplace and paymentapplication(s) in an example embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a high-level entity-relationship diagram,illustrating various tables that may be maintained within one or moredatabases, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an interaction chart in an example embodiment.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate interfaces according to an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of a method, according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in theform of a computer system within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, may be executed, according to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example methods and systems to publish a promotion at a point-of-saleare described. For example, a preliminary selection of a purchase from auser may be received. A promotion may be published at a point-of-sale tothe user when the user makes the preliminary selection and before theuser finalizes the purchase. The promotion may be based on anattribute(s), where the attribute(s) is (are) selected from a groupincluding a user attribute and an attribute associated with thepreliminary selection.

An interface may provide an option to the user to select the promotion.The promotion may include a discount associated with the purchase. Whenthe user selects the promotion, a discount associated with the promotionis accounted for concurrently with the purchase at the point-of-sale.

In the feature promotions, discounts are offered in substantialreal-time to a user (e.g., a seller on an electronic marketplace system)who is currently placing a listing on the electronic marketplace system.The discount offered to the user may be for an upgrade feature topromote the listing on the electronic marketplace system.

The preliminary selection of the purchase may include a listingattribute, such as listing category. The listing attribute may alsosimply be the user logging on to the system, for example. The purchasemay be associated with a listing on a network-based commerce systemand/or associated with a product offered on any electronic marketplacesystem.

An analysis module analyzes a rule condition associated with eachpromotion to determine eligibility of a user for a particular promotionand/or to filter and prioritize potential promotions to offer to theuser. The analysis module may determine which of many promotions are theoptimal ones to offer to the user, while not offering too manypromotions so that the user is less likely to be confused, distracted,or overwhelmed by the process. In the case where there are apparentconflicting or overlapping promotions, the analysis module may determinethe optimal or higher priority promotion, and just display that one orthose ones to the user to the exclusion of the other promotions.Further, promotions that are not relevant to the user may also befiltered by the analysis module, again to not distract the user and tokeep the user moving forward in the purchase process (i.e., placing alisting on the electronic marketplace).

Eligibility for a particular promotion may be determined by the analysismodule in real-time as the user is listing on the system, for instance.The eligible promotions are analyzed and displayed as part of thelisting process, and generally displayed before the user loses interestin the purchase or becomes impatient with the process.

Every promotion may not be offered to every user. Again, the analysismodule filters promotions that are conflicting. In addition, theanalysis module may filter promotions for products the user may alreadyregularly purchase. These promotions are filtered because they maytranslate directly into lost revenue during the promotional period.

For these reasons, the process is streamlined with the analysis modulein keeping with a goal of moving users forward in the purchasingprocess, and leaving the users with a desire to purchase again via theelectronic marketplace.

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example embodiments. It will be evident, however, toone skilled in the art that the present invention may be practicedwithout these specific details.

Architecture

FIG. 1 illustrates a network diagram depicting a system 10 having aclient-server architecture, according to an example embodiment of thepresent invention. A system, in the example form of an electronic system12, provides server-side functionality, via a network 14 (e.g., theInternet, a public or private telephone network (wireline or wireless),a private wireless network using technologies such as Bluetooth or IEEE802.11x or other networks) to one or more clients. FIG. 1 illustrates,for example, a web client 16 (e.g., a browser, such as the InternetExplorer® browser developed by Microsoft®), and a programmatic client 18executing on respective client machines 20 and 22, e.g. on anetwork-based device. Additionally, a device application 17 may executeon a client machine 21. Further, while the system 10 shown in FIG. 1employs a client-server architecture, embodiments are of course notlimited to such an architecture, and could equally well findapplications in a distributed, or peer-to-peer, architecture system.

The client machines, including network-based device(s) 20, 21, 22, mayinclude a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, adesktop computer, a personal digital assistant, a cellular telephone, acommunications device, a wireless telephone, a land-line telephone, acontrol system, a camera, a scanner, a television, television cable, atelephone with a web browser, a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager,and/or a personal trusted device. The device 20, 21, 22 may include acard, such as a smart card, a magnetic card, and/or a key card. Thedevice may include a telephone or any device capable of Short MessagingService (SMS) messaging, instant messaging (IM), multimedia messagingservice (MMS) messaging and/or generating audio tones, such as dual-tonemulti-frequency (DTMF) tones. The device may be browser-enabled. Thedevice may engage in an interactive message and/or open communicationsession, such as SMS, IM, electronic mail, xHTML, Wireless ApplicationProtocol (WAP), web, interactive voice response (IVR) and/or othermobile interfaces. The interactive messaging or open communicationsession may involve multiple technology modalities, e.g. the client usermay engage the system via SMS and receive a responsive communicationfrom an IVR Server or as an SMS with an embedded hyperlinked URLdirecting the client user's device to a WAP or web page. A hyperlinkedURL may be delivered directly to the device from the applicationserver(s) 28 and may be used to access a web site or a microbrowser,such as a WAP site. The device 20, 21, 22 may enable mobile videophonecommunications, digital television signals, and/or digital radiosignals. The device may include a receiver to receive near fieldcommunications as described in more detail herein. The scanner devicemay include a bar code reader/scanner, a Radio Frequency InterfaceSystem (RFIS) reader, and/or a symbol reader/scanner.

Turning specifically to the network-based system 12, an ApplicationProgram Interface (API) server 24, a Messaging Service (MS) GatewayServer 25, and a web server 26 may be coupled to, and may provideprogrammatic, MS, and web interfaces, respectively to, one or moreapplication servers 28. The devices may use one or more of theseinterfaces to access the application server(s) 28.

The application server(s) 28 may host one or more marketplaceapplication(s) 30 and one or more payment application(s) 32. Theapplication server(s) 28 are, in turn, shown to be coupled to one ormore database servers 34 that facilitate access to one or more databases36.

The marketplace applications 30 may provide a number of marketplacefunctions and services to users that access the networked system 12. Thepayment applications 32 may likewise provide a number of paymentservices and functions to users. The payment applications 32 may allowusers to accumulate value (e.g., in a commercial currency, such as theU.S. dollar, or a proprietary currency, such as “points”) in accounts,and then later to redeem the accumulated value for products (e.g., goodsor services) that are made available via the marketplace applications30. While the marketplace and payment applications 30 and 32 are shownin FIG. 1 to both form part of the networked system 12, it will beappreciated that, in alternative embodiments, the payment applications32 may form part of a payment service that is separate and distinct fromthe networked system 12.

Further, while the system 12 shown in FIG. 1 employs a client-serverarchitecture, the present subject matter is of course not limited tosuch an architecture, and could equally well find application in adistributed, or peer-to-peer, architecture system, for example. Thesystem 12 and the various marketplace and payment applications 30 and 32could also be implemented as standalone software programs, which do notnecessarily have networking capabilities. In this example, the device20, 21, 22 may be directly connected to the marketplace application(s)30, without using the network 14. The electronic system 12 may be anystore having a database with rule conditions, for example,www.walmart.com (service mark of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) orwww.llbean.com (service mark of L. L. Bean, Inc.).

The client devices may access the various marketplace and paymentapplications 30 and 32 via the web interface supported by the web server26, via the programmatic interface supported by the API server 24,and/or via the MS Interface supported by the MS Gateway Server 25.

The device 20, 21, and/or 22 may be used by the user to publish theirlistings on the marketplace application(s) of the network-based system12. The web and programmatic interfaces may be considered thepoint-of-sale when the user/seller publishes/lists their listings on theelectronic marketplace.

The point-of-sale may also be a physical location where a marketplacetransaction occurs. Wherever a product or service may be sold, theproduct or service may be sold where a point of sale system is in use.

The web interface may include a web browser or any microbrowser, such asxHTML or WAP. Similarly, the programmatic client 18 accesses the variousservices and functions provided by the application server(s) 28, via theprogrammatic interface provided by the API server 24 and/or the webserver 26. The programmatic client 18 may, for example, be a sellerapplication (e.g., the TurboLister® application) to enable sellers toauthor and manage listings on the networked system 12 in an off-linemanner, and to perform batch-mode communications between theprogrammatic client 18 and the networked system 12.

In an additional embodiment, an application supported by one or moreapplications of the application server(s) may be downloadable to thenetwork-based device. The device(s) may host the interface associatedwith the one or more applications of the application server(s) 28. Theinterface on the device may be an API interface, an MS interface, a webinterface, and/or another other appropriate communication interface.Consumer wireless device platforms, such as Java 2 Platform MicroEdition (J2ME), J2SE and J2EE allow developers to use Java and awireless toolkit to create applications and programs for the device 22.The J2ME interface may include an application programming interface(API) for the device. The application of the programmatic client mayalso access the Internet using, for example, Binary Runtime Environmentfor Wireless (BREW).

The device application 17 executed on the client machine 21 may accessthe application server(s) 28 via the web interface of the web server.The application 17 may be selected on the device and the Internet may belaunched in a background. The application 17 may additionally oralternatively access the server(s) 28 via the MS interface of the MSGateway server 25, and/or via the programmatic interface of the APIserver 24. In an embodiment, the downloaded application described hereinmay include the device application 17.

The application(s) 17 may have access to the database 36 having, forexample, the personal user account information through, for example, thedatabase server(s) 34. The web client 16, the device application 17,and/or the programmatic client 18 may operate a program supported by theone or more database server(s) 34.

The network 14 may include a mobile telephone network, a wireless widearea network (WWAN), a wireline telephone network, a wireless local areanetwork (wireless LAN or WLAN), a wireless Metropolitan Area Network(MAN), and/or a wireless personal area network (PAN) (e.g., a Bluetooth®network). Other network-based technologies that may be used to connectinclude PON, VSAT satellite, Micro-impulse Radar, Radio Frequencyidentification (RFID), UltraWide Band, and/or Infrared. Thenetwork-based device may connect to the web using mobile internetexchange, e.g. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and/or HypertextTransport Protocol (HTTP).

FIG. 1 also illustrates the third party application 38 as havingprogrammatic access to the network-based system 12 via the programmaticinterface provided by the API server 24. The third party website may,for example, provide one or more promotional, marketplace or paymentfunctions that are supported by the relevant applications of thenetwork-based system 12.

Application Server(s)

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram showing application server(s) thatare part of the network-based system 12, in an example embodiment of thepresent invention. In this embodiment, the marketplace application(s)30, and the payment application(s) 32 may be hosted by the applicationserver(s) 28 of the network-based system 12. The applications 30 and 32may be hosted on dedicated or shared server machines (not shown) thatare communicatively coupled to enable communications between servermachines. The applications themselves are communicatively coupled (e.g.,via appropriate interfaces) to each other and to various data sources,so as to allow information to be passed between the applications or soas to allow the applications to share and access common data. Theapplications 30, 32 may furthermore access one or more of the databases36 via the database servers 34.

The marketplace application(s) 30 may provide a number of marketplacefunctions and services to client users, such as a buyer, and/or to thirdparties, such as sellers or vendors, who access the system 12. Themarketplace applications 30 may provide a number of offering mechanismsand price-setting mechanisms; whereby a seller may list goods orservices for sale, a seller may promote their offers, a buyer canexpress interest in or indicate a desire to purchase such goods orservices or to donate, and a price can be set for a transactionpertaining to the goods or services.

Store applications 114 allow a seller to group listings within a“virtual” store, which may be branded and otherwise personalized by andfor the seller. Such a virtual store may also offer promotions,incentives and listing selling features that are specific andpersonalized to a relevant seller.

Navigation of the networked system 12 may be facilitated by one or morenavigation applications 116. For example, a search application (as anexample of a navigation application) may enable key word searches oflistings published via the networked system 12. A browse application mayallow users to browse various category, catalogue, or inventory datastructures according to which listings may be classified within thenetworked system 12. Various other navigation applications may beprovided to supplement the search and browsing applications.

A number of fixed-price applications 120 support fixed-price listingformats (e.g., the traditional classified advertisement-type listing ora catalogue listing) and buyout-type listings. Specifically, buyout-typelistings (e.g., including the Buy-It-Now® (BIN) technology developed byeBay Inc., of San Jose, Calif.) may be offered in conjunction withauction-format listings, and allow a buyer to purchase goods orservices, which are also being offered for sale via an auction, for afixed-price that is typically higher than the starting price of theauction.

To this end, the marketplace applications 30 are shown to include atleast one publication application 126 and one or more auctionapplications 128 which support auction-format listing and price settingmechanisms (e.g., English, Dutch, Vickrey, Chinese, Double, Reverseauctions etc.). The various auction applications 128 may also provide anumber of features in support of such auction-format listings, such as areserve price feature whereby a seller may specify a reserve price inconnection with a listing and a proxy-bidding feature whereby a biddermay invoke automated proxy bidding. The auction-format offer in anyformat may be published in any virtual or physical marketplace mediumand may be considered the point of sale for the commerce transactionbetween a seller and a buyer.

Personalization applications 130 allow users of the networked system 12to personalize various aspects of their interactions with the networkedsystem 12. For example a user may, utilizing an appropriatepersonalization application 130, create a personalized reference page atwhich information regarding transactions to which the user is (or hasbeen) a party may be viewed. Further, the personalization application(s)130 may enable a third party to personalize products and other aspectsof their interactions with the system 12 and other parties, or toprovide other information, such as relevant business information aboutthemselves.

The marketplace applications 30 may include one or moreinternationalization applications 132. In one embodiment, thenetwork-based system 12 may support a number of marketplaces that arecustomized, for example, for specific geographic regions. A version ofthe system 12 may be customized for the United Kingdom, whereas anotherversion of the system 12 may be customized for the United States. Eachof these versions may operate as an independent marketplace, or may becustomized (or internationalized) presentations of a common underlyingmarketplace. The networked system 12 may accordingly include a number ofinternationalization applications 132 that customize information (and/orthe presentation of information) by the networked system 12 according topredetermined criteria (e.g., geographic, demographic or marketplacecriteria). For example, the internationalization applications 132 may beused to support the customization of information for a number ofregional websites that are operated by the networked system 12 and thatare accessible via respective web servers.

Reputation applications 134 allow users that transact, utilizing thenetworked system 12, to establish, build and maintain reputations, whichmay be made available and published to potential trading partners.Consider that where, for example, the networked system 12 supportsperson-to-person trading, users may otherwise have no history or otherreference information whereby the trustworthiness and credibility ofpotential trading partners may be assessed. The reputation applications134 allow a user, for example through feedback provided by othertransaction partners, to establish a reputation within the networkedsystem 12 over time. Other potential trading partners may then referencesuch a reputation for the purposes of assessing credibility andtrustworthiness.

In order to make listings, available via the networked system 12, asvisually informing and attractive as possible, the marketplaceapplications 30 may include one or more imaging applications 136utilizing which users may upload images for inclusion within listings.An imaging application 136 also operates to incorporate images withinviewed listings. The imaging applications 136 may also support one ormore promotional features, such as image galleries that are presented topotential buyers. For example, sellers may generally pay an additionalfee to have an image included within a gallery of images for promoteditems.

The marketplace applications 30 may include one or more offer creationapplications 138. The offer creation applications 138 allow sellersconveniently to author products pertaining to goods or services thatthey wish to transact via the system 12. Offer management applications140 allow sellers to manage offers, such as goods, services, or donationopportunities. Specifically, where a particular seller has authoredand/or published a large number of products, the management of suchproducts may present a challenge. The offer management applications 140provide a number of features (e.g., auto-reproduct, inventory levelmonitors, etc.) to assist the seller in managing such products. One ormore post-offer management applications 142 also assist sellers with anumber of activities that typically occur post-offer. For example, uponcompletion of an auction facilitated by one or more auction applications128, a seller may wish to leave feedback regarding a particular buyer.To this end, a post-offer management application 142 may provide aninterface to one or more reputation applications 134, so as to allow theseller conveniently to provide feedback regarding multiple buyers to thereputation applications 134.

The dispute resolution application(s) 146 may provide mechanisms wherebydisputes arising between transacting parties may be resolved. Forexample, the dispute resolution applications 146 may provide guidedprocedures whereby the parties are guided through a number of steps inan attempt to settle a dispute. In the event that the dispute cannot besettled via the guided procedures, the dispute may be escalated to amediator or arbitrator.

A number of fraud prevention applications 148 implement fraud detectionand prevention mechanisms to reduce the occurrence of fraud within thenetworked system 12. The fraud prevention application(s) 148 mayimplement various fraud detection and prevention mechanisms to reducethe occurrence of fraud within the system 12. The fraud preventionapplication(s) may prevent fraud with respect to the third party and/orthe client user in relation to any part of the request, payment,information flows and/or request fulfillment. Fraud may occur withrespect to unauthorized use of financial instruments, non-delivery ofgoods, and abuse of personal information.

The application server(s) 28 may include messaging applications 150. Themessaging applications 150 are responsible for the generation anddelivery of messages to client users and third parties of thenetwork-based system 12. Such messages, for example, advise client usersregarding the status of products (e.g., providing “out of stock” or“outbid” notices to client users). Third parties may be notified of aproduct order, payment confirmation and/or shipment information.Respective messaging applications 150 may utilize any one have a numberof message delivery networks and platforms to deliver messages to users.For example, messaging applications 150 may deliver electronic mail(e-mail), instant message (IM), Short Message Service (SMS), text,facsimile, or voice (e.g., Voice over IP (VoIP)) messages via the wired(e.g., the Internet), Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), or wireless(e.g., mobile, cellular, WiFi, WiMAX) networks.

Merchandising applications 152 support various merchandising functionsthat are made available to sellers to enable sellers to increase salesvia the networked system 152. The merchandising applications 152 alsooperate the various merchandising features that may be invoked bysellers, and may monitor and track the success of merchandisingstrategies employed by sellers.

The network-based system 12 itself, or one or more parties that transactvia the system 12, may operate loyalty programs and other types ofpromotions that are supported by one or more loyalty/promotionsapplications 154. For example, a buyer/client user may earn loyalty orpromotions points for each transaction established and/or concluded witha particular seller/third party, and may be offered a reward for whichaccumulated loyalty points can be redeemed.

The loyalty/promotions applications 154 may include an example promotionapplication that offers a promotion to entice seller-users in real-timewhile the seller-user is listing their item or service on thenetwork-based commerce system. The promotion's purpose includescompelling seller-users to list more frequently, or always list, withthe network-based commerce system offering the promotion. In addition,the purpose includes offering the seller-user an additional feature tobuy to generate revenue for the network-based commerce system.

Promotion of listing upgrades and the various listing formats may be aneffective vehicle to drive both adoption and revenue. The promotions aretargeted based on a variety of user (e.g., a seller on the electronicmarketplace) and listing characteristics during a listing flow (i.e.,purchase process). Further, this promotion type may keep revenue frombeing lost by non-targeted promotions.

In the feature promotions, discounts are offered in real-time to theuser on upgrade features for a listing while the user is listing withthe system 12. For example, the discount is offered during the time thatthe user is listing on the marketplace, as opposed to being issued as acredit at a later time. The features include selling features thatprominently display publications (i.e., seller listings) on the system12.

There are several types of discounts, for example: a discounted featurefee (e.g., feature fee for Bold feature is $0.75), a discount amount offfrom base price (e.g., feature fee for Bold feature is discounted by$0.20, where the actual charge may be $1.00−$0.20=$0.80), and a discountpercent off from base price (e.g., feature fee for Bold feature isdiscounted by 15%, where the actual charge may be $1.00−0.15=$0.85).

The promotions may associated with applicable purchases (e.g., listings)on the system 12, wherein the listings are in auction format, fixedprice format, stores format and/or advertising format.

Discounts associated with the promotions are given during the listingprocess, while the user-seller is listing the publication. In thisembodiment, because the discount is offered immediately, a creditassociated with the discount is not given, although in otherembodiments, a credit may be given. The promotions may be offered to theuser-seller in “real-time” or dynamically based on user-seller inputduring the listing flow to target particular users or particularlistings. Because the process is dynamic, the system may not pull listsof users to target market in some embodiments. The users dynamicallyqualify as they begin the listing process. The discounted price for thepromotion may also be dynamic based on selected promotions.

Promotions the seller is qualified for are displayed to user/seller, andthe user/seller can select or ignore the promotion. If the seller doesnot qualify for a promotion, none are presented. The promotions may bepre-announced before the user begins a listing process via multiplechannels (email and Real-time Messaging) to change user behaviorpatterns. The promotions also may be surprise, in-session promotions tocross-sell and up-sell features.

Site-wide promotions or users targeted by list may also be used withreal-time promotions. For example, the analysis module lists thesepromotions along with other promotions in the selection for the userduring the listing. In an example, 2 promotions are available to theuser: (1) free bold and (2) ½ off bold+gallery. An analysis module 156or an algorithm of the loyalty/promotion application may determine tooffer both to seller, and let the seller decide which one to take, ormay just offer one of the two.

The analysis module 156 may eliminate duplicate promotions, filter outconflicting promotions, prioritize the remaining promotions and returnsat least one optimal promotion to the seller-user. The analysis module156 may receive rule conditions from a rules table 220, listingattributes from a table 218, and user attributes from a table 202 asinput for determination of promotions published to the user in real-timewhile the user is listing their item or service on the system 12. Theanalysis module 156 outputs the rule conditions that the current userqualifies for, as well as the associated promotion information. Thisinformation is displayed in real-time to the user at the client side asthe user is listing. The user makes a selection that may or may notinclude the promotion.

The rules table and associated analysis module offers the flexibility toadd, remove, and/or modify promotions without incurring additionaldevelopment costs because changes to promotions may be made simply bymodifying the rules table.

The analysis module 156 is further discussed with regard to the flowchart at FIG. 6.

Data Structures

FIG. 3 illustrates a high-level entity-relationship diagram, havingvarious tables 200 that may be maintained within the database(s) 36according to an example embodiment. The tables 200 may be utilized byand support the application(s) of the application server(s). Thedatabase(s) 36 may, in one embodiment, be implemented as a relationaldatabase, and includes a number of tables having entries, or records,that are linked by indices and keys. In an alternative embodiment, thedatabase(s) 36 may be implemented as a collection of objects in anobject-oriented database.

A user attributes table 202 contains a record for each registered userof the networked system 12. A user may operate as a seller, a buyer, orboth, within the networked system 12. In one example embodiment, a buyermay be a user that has accumulated value (e.g., commercial orproprietary currency), and is accordingly able to exchange theaccumulated value for items that are offered for sale by the networkedsystem 12. The user attribute may be selected from a group including:number of feedbacks obtained, positive feedback percentage, verifiablestreet address on file, time on file (length of time), associatedcountry, date of first listing, date of last listing, total number oflistings (and frequency of listing), total number of listings that sold,date last used PayPal®, date a particular feature was last used, andtotal number of times a particular feature was used.

The tables 200 also include a listings or items table 204 in which aremaintained item records for goods and services that are available to be,or have been, transacted via the networked system 12. Each item recordwithin the items table 204 may furthermore be linked to one or more userrecords within the user table 202, so as to associate a seller and oneor more actual or potential buyers with each item record.

A transaction table 206 contains a record for each transaction (e.g., apurchase or sale transaction) pertaining to items for which recordsexist within the items table 204. In addition to transactions takingplace between users on the system, the transaction table 206 may includea record for the specific transaction (e.g., a purchase transaction)under consideration in the analysis module 156. The transaction table206 may include information such as the user, the category or otherlisting features, status, price paid, date, and othertransaction-related information.

An order table 208 is populated with order records, each order recordbeing associated with an order. Each order, in turn, may be associatedwith one or more transactions for which records exist within thetransaction table 206.

Bid records within a bids table 210 each relate to a bid received at thenetworked system 12 in connection with an auction-format listingsupported by an auction application 128. A feedback table 212 isutilized by one or more reputation applications 134, in one exampleembodiment, to construct and maintain reputation information concerningusers. A history table 214 maintains a history of transactions to whicha user has been a party. One or more product attributes tables 216record attribute information pertaining to items for which records existwithin the items table 204. Considering just a single example of such anattribute, the attributes tables 216 may indicate a currency attributeassociated with a particular item, the currency attribute identifyingthe currency of a price for the relevant item as specified by a seller.

The tables 200 may include one or more listing attributes tables 218.The listing attributes tables 220 record attributes of a listing and/ora publication including site, country ID, location ID; format; category;PayPal® accepted; shipping instructions; which listing selling featuresare selected; catalog based; product ID; item return policy; startingprice; fixed-price amount; reserve price; quantity of items for listing;currency selected for listing; number of photos; item sequence number,item duration; item re-listed; item listed in 2nd category; applicationID; item return policy; listing tool used and user login.

The tables 200 may include one or more rules tables 220 listing the ruleconditions used by the analysis module 156. Example rule conditionsinclude, but are not limited to: If the user is listing fromTurboLister®, offer $2.00 off insertion fees; if the user is listingthrough a 3rd party tool, offer 5% off insertion fees; offer usersGallery, Bold, Highlight for $2.00; offer new users Subtitle and Boldfor free”; if this is a first-time lister, offer them insertion fees forfree; if this user has never used Bold, offer 45% discount; if userlists in the Books category, then offer $2.00 off the price of premiumpackage; if user lists with Fixed Price Format in the Women's clothingcategory, then offer Penny Gallery Day (PGD) or First Three ListingsFree including Gallery or $0.05 Subtitle; if seller has never used Boldfeature, then this feature is offered for free to seller for thislisting; if seller has never used Bold or Gallery feature, then theselisting selling features are offered for a substantial discount (2 for 1sale, etc.); if item is being relisted, then offer 50% off insertion fee(“if, then” rule condition); if the user selects Bold, then offerHighlight for free; if user selects PayPal, offer Gallery Featured for$5.00; offer Free listing day (FLD) for items with a starting bidbetween $25.00-$49.99 (if the items has a starting bid is $60, it maynot qualify for the promotion); if the user lists the item in theirStore for 60 days, offer 30% off Bold; and offer discounted InsertionFees varying from $0.30 to $4.80, for example, depending upon listingprice and category.

For counter-like behavior, various rule conditions may be used. Forexample, when the user-seller is new to the system, certain feature feesmay be waived. Some examples include the following: for cumulativelistings=0, the first 3 listings insertion feature fee=0; for cumulativeGallery feature use=0, the Gallery feature fee=0; for cumulativeSubtitle feature use=0 and Cumulative Gallery feature use >1, theSubtitle feature fee=0; for cumulative Border feature use=0, cumulativelistings >5, Border feature fee=50% off; for category=Apparel,Collectibles, or Jewelry, the Picture Pack Feature fee=50% off; forcumulative listings >0 and Cumulative listings <5 and Cumulative soldlistings=0, the Listing Designer feature fee=0; and for cumulativelistings >25, the cumulative “premium package” use=0, the “premiumpackage” feature fee=50% off. If the user cannot select the feature(because they are ineligible), then the BASE PRICE may be displayed andthe user may not be aware of the promotion at all. The premium packagefeature may be $19.95 for those users with an amount of feedback ratingsof 10 or more. If user has <10 feedback, the premium package featurefield may not be available to add a value. As a result, if there is apremium package promotion, then the user sees the BASE PRICE. The usermay not receive the promotion price because the does not have attributesthat meet the criteria. For a package bundle, the bundle may not bedisplayed if it includes a feature the user is ineligible for. Forexample, possible feature selections include a Bundle (Bold @ $0.50) andinclude a premium package ($5.00), and a Bold promotion (where, forexample, Bold is 50% off). For any number of reasons, the user doesn'tqualify for the premium package feature, and based on example ruleconditions, the bundle has preference over the Bold promotion. As aresult, the Bundle messaging may not be displayed, and the Bold featureat 50% off may be displayed. The analysis module 156 simply filters anypromotion that includes a feature the user is ineligible for.

The tables 200 may include one or more features tables 222. The featurestables 222 record features of listings that the user may select orpurchase, including: title & description (t&d), pictures & details(p&d), subtitle, fixed price amount, reserve price amount, 10-daylisting, schedule listing, gallery, gallery featured, eps, 2-12pictures, supersize, picture show, picture pack (1-12 pictures,supersize, picture show, gallery), listing designer, bold, border,highlight, premium package, homepage featured, gift services, 10-daylisting, motors homepage featured (includes gallery featured), icon, anda professional package (bold, border, highlight, premium package).

Interaction Chart

FIG. 4 illustrates an interaction chart 300 in an example embodiment. Inthe interaction chart 300, a preliminary selection at 310 is made by auser on the client side. The preliminary selection may be a simple loginby the client, and may be a selection of category into which to placethe listing, or any other possible trigger as a preliminary selection ofa purchase on the system 12. At the server side, at 320, rule conditionsfrom the rules table 220, listing attributes from the correspondingtable 218, and user attributes from the corresponding table 202 aregathered as input. The analysis module 156 at 330 uses the input fordetermination of promotions published to the user in real-time while theuser is listing their offer on the system 12. The analysis module 156outputs at 340 the rule conditions that the current user qualifies for,as well as the associated promotion information. This information isdisplayed at 350 in real-time to the user at the client side. The usermakes a selection at 360 that may or may not include the promotion, andthe server side proceeds to calculate a cumulative feature fee with afee calculation module 370 based on the selections made by the user.

Once the seller has selected the promotions, the Fee Calculation module370 computes the listing fees and displays them to the user. The userthen has an opportunity to review the fees and decide whether to submitor cancel their listing.

User Interfaces

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate interfaces 400 and 600 according to anexample embodiment. A feature promotion may be offered to each member ofthe system, or may be available just to targeted individuals based onspecific characteristics of the user or of the listing. The featurepromotion may be for either a single feature or a feature bundlepromotion. The Feature Bundle Promotion is a combination of singlefeatures, groups of features offered to the user at a single combinedprice (e.g. Gallery+Bold+Highlight for a discounted price). The featurebundle price may be selected by the business, as well as the specificfeatures in the bundle.

Example single feature rule conditions (recorded on the rules table)are: If <seller has never used Picture Service>, then <offer PictureService for free>, and If <the item is being re-listed>, then <offer 50%off insertion feature fee>. In the first example, the condition is basedon the user attribute, and in the second example, the condition is basedon the listing attribute. Example Feature Bundle includes: If <sellerhas never used Bold or Gallery>, then <offer Bold and Gallery for$1.05>; and If <date of last listing was more than 6 months ago>, then<offer Bold and Gallery for $1.05>.

Flowcharts

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart of a method 700, according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention. The method 700 may include thealgorithm associated with the analysis module 156. The method 700includes at 710, determine active promotions the user is eligible for,or qualifies for at the system. There may be single feature promotionsand/or feature bundles. The promotions may be previously announced ornot.

At 720, determine optimal single feature promotions. Optimal may includea “best” price for the user, or the optimal promotion for the system.

At 725, query whether there are conflicting single feature promotions,in particular, conflicting apparent rule conditions, as described inmore detail below. If there is a conflict, then proceed to determination730. If no conflicts, then proceed to sort 740.

At 730, determine the highest priority optimal single featurepromotions, when there are conflicting single feature promotions.

At 740, sort the feature bundles in order of priority.

At 750, in order of bundle priority, keep any bundle that waspre-announced and has no conflict with the features already selected at720.

At 760, eliminate any bundle from display that either: a) has overlapwith a single feature that has already been selected at 720 or b) hasoverlap with a previously selected bundle.

At 770, the process ends when the list of promotions is forwarded to theuser interface for display to the qualified seller (user). Thepromotions are displayed on the listing flow. The seller has the optionto select any promotion they want or to ignore them.

Table 1 summarizes possible combinations:

TABLE 1 Single Feature- Single Feature Feature Bundle Feature BundlePre-announced In-session Pre-announced In-session Single Feature- BestPrice Single Feature- Feature Bundle Single Feature Pre-announcedPre-announced Pre-announced Pre-announced Single Feature- Single FeatureBest Price Feature Bundle Feature Bundle In-session Pre-announcedPre-announced In-session Feature Bundle- Feature Bundle Feature BundleHigher Priority Feature Bundle Pre-announced Pre-announced Pre-announcedPre-announced Feature Bundle-In- Single Feature Feature Bundle FeatureBundle Higher Priority session Pre-announced In-session Pre-announced

The analysis module 156 determines if the user is qualified to receive apromotion, based on seller and/or listing attributes. The module 156 mayhave the following rule conditions; Single feature takes precedence overfeature bundle; of conflicting singles, keep single with optimal price;if multiple single promotion for same feature with same price, then keeppromotion with higher priority; sort features and bundles by priority;keep pre-announced promotion that does not conflict with single featurepromotion; exclude bundle with conflict to single; exclude bundle withconflict with another bundle; and use priority for case where more thanone promotion for the same single feature with the same promotionalprice is available.

If there is no overlap/conflict between a set of promotions, the usershould receive each promotion that applies. In the case of conflictingpromotions (e.g., the same feature appears in two promotions that theuser qualifies for), the analysis module 156 is used to resolve theconflict in real-time while the user is listing. The “conflict” may bedefined as follows: the analysis module 156 evaluates the “THEN” clause.The rule conditions may be examined at the following levels: Ruleconditions within the same territory (e.g. U.S. territory); ruleconditions within a Territory vs. Language level rule conditions for theappropriate language (e.g. U.S. territory vs. English language); ruleconditions within a Territory vs. Vertical level rule conditions (e.g.U.S. territory vs. Vertical); and rule conditions at a Language levelvs. Vertical level rule conditions (e.g. French language rule conditionsvs. vertical rule conditions).

In an example, there is a conflict; two promotions are found for thesame single feature: The price in one Single Feature promotion isgreater than or equal to the price in the other Single Featurepromotion, or it may be inconclusive whether one single featurepromotion is more expensive than the other (e.g., B=10% off vs. B=$0.05discount). In another set of conflicts, two or more Feature Bundlepromotions are found where there is overlap in any of the features inthe bundle: B (Bold)+G (Gallery), where (B=$0.15)+(G=$0.90); (G+H),wherein (G=$0.85)+(H=$2.50). In another example conflict: two or morepromotions are found where there is conflict between a feature in aFeature Bundle and the same feature in a Single Feature promotion andthe price of the feature in the Single Feature promotion is greater thanor equal to the price of the same feature in the Feature BundlePromotion, or it may be inconclusive if one feature is more expensivethan the other; e.g., B(bold)=$0.40 off base price; B+G is offered atfor $1.05, where B=$0.15 and G=$0.90; B=$0.10; G=$0.95; B+G for $1.05,where B=$0.15 and G=$0.90; B=50%; G=$0.75; B G for $1.05, where B=$0.15and G=$0.90. The analysis module 156 may solve these conflicts inreal-time based on actual user selections.

In an example, if the seller used the bold feature less than 5 times andthey are re-listing their item today, then they may be offered Bold for½ off. In this example, the promotion includes two criteria and onefeature fee reduction. The rules table of the database does not limitthe number of criteria or the number of feature fee reductions, thus thepromotion may become quite complex, making the evaluation difficult andmanual evaluation almost impossible. The algorithms by themselves arechallenging but to have these algorithms execute in real-time while theuser/seller is on the site submitting their listing adds to thechallenge. The algorithm response times are minimized while the accuracyis maximized for a user experience of the highest possible quality.

In another example, items that have the titles featured in bold may sellfor at least 25% more on average, as compared with similar items that donot have bold titles. Users optimize their profits if the cost for thebold (ex: $1 for Bold) is less than the 25% price increase (e.g., selltheir item for at least $4 to make the purchase of the bold featureworth it). Once users realize that the features benefit them, they maymore frequently use that feature, which may in turn, increase revenuefor the electronic system, both in purchase of the features at the frontend, and in the increased final value fee. Users may be more successfulin their own featured sales through the use of targeted promotions offeatures that can impact the seller's conversion rate. Increased successmay more likely translate into an increase in continued usage by theuser.

While the criteria of promotion conditions themselves may increase incomplexity due to the availability of the algorithm, the volume ofpromotions may also increase significantly. Promotions may be offeredbased on criteria or conditions, such as characteristics of the selleror characteristics of their listing, which are objective and achievableby each user equally.

The target for promotions may be infrequent sellers, or sellers that donot use any features regularly or just use a certain feature regularly.The user/seller may find that the features do help promote and selltheir item, and sell their items faster, with more bids, and thus, witha higher sale price. The promotions may also drive a trial of featuresthat the user does not otherwise use. Permanent revenue for theelectronic marketplace may be created by an adoption lift though thechanged listing behavior of user-sellers.

The algorithm or analysis module may also be considered ‘smart’ in thatthe algorithm may anticipate feature bundles to offer the user in apersonalized bundle package because of known features the user hasselected or is likely to select. Because a user may be thinking aboutfees and saving money while listing, they may be inclined to choose apersonalized bundle that offers them a discount.

Promotion Success Analysis may be conducted by ad-hoc queries, such asnumber of promotions qualified, shown and accepted for seller; featureadoption rate before, during and after a promotion; revenue perpromotion by listing and feature; promotion tracking; number of sessionsqualified, shown, and accepted; number of items qualified, shown, andaccepted; promotion history; and list of promotions by site includingcategory, condition, and feature(s) being promoted.

Users may revise a listing, in the instance, for example, where no bidshave yet been made on the listing from potential buyers. Users mayqualify for a promotion on features in the instance where theyoriginally qualified for the original promotions, where they currentlyqualify for the original promotions, and/or where they qualify forcurrent promotions. In some scenarios, if the seller-user did notqualify during the original listing, then they do not qualify justbecause they are revising their listing. In another scenario, if aseller qualified for a promotion at the time of listing but did notselect the promotion, they may qualify for the promotion when revisingthe listing if the promotion is still active. However, the seller-usermay not be offered the promotion if the promotion has since expired. Inyet another scenario, if the promotion was inactive at the time thelisting was originally placed, but becomes active at the time ofrelisting, the seller-user may not be shown the promotion. The promotionqualification may be determined by the seller profile obtained duringthe original listing session.

Platform Architecture

FIG. 7 shows a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exampleform of a computer system 800 within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, may be executed. In alternative embodiments, themachine operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g.,network) to other machines. In a network deployment, the machine mayoperate in the capacity of a server or a client user machine inserver-client user network environment, or as a peer machine in apeer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine may be aserver computer, a client user computer, a personal computer (PC), atablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), acellular telephone, a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant, acommunications device, a wireless telephone, a land-line telephone, acontrol system, a camera, a scanner, a facsimile machine, a printer, atelevision, television cable a pager, a personal trusted device, a webappliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine.

Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 800 includes a processor 802 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), orboth), a main memory 804 and a static memory 806, which communicate witheach other via a bus 808. The computer system 800 may further include avideo display unit 810 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or acathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system 800 also includes an inputdevice 812 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 814 (e.g., amouse), a disk drive unit 816, a signal generation device 818 (e.g., aspeaker) and a network interface device 820.

The disk drive unit 816 includes a machine-readable medium 822 on whichis stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 824)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein. The instructions 824 may also reside, completely or at leastpartially, within the main memory 804, the static memory 806, and/orwithin the processor 802 during execution thereof by the computer system800. The main memory 804 and the processor 802 also may constitutemachine-readable media.

The instructions 824 may further be transmitted or received over anetwork 826 via the network interface device 820.

Applications that may include the apparatus and systems of variousembodiments broadly include a variety of electronic and computersystems. Some embodiments implement functions in two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals communicated between and through the modules, or as portions ofan application-specific integrated circuit. Thus, the example system isapplicable to software, firmware, and hardware implementations.

While the machine-readable medium 822 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present invention. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media, and carrier wavesignals.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Otherembodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structuraland logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. FIGS. 1 to 7 are merely representationaland may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may beexaggerated, while others may be minimized.

Thus, a method and system to publish a promotion at a point-of-sale havebeen described. Although the present invention has been described withreference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident thatvarious modifications and changes may be made to these embodimentswithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

The description includes terms, such as “up”, “down”, “upper”, “lower”,“first”, “second”, etc. that are used for descriptive purposes only andare not to be construed as limiting. The elements, materials,geometries, dimensions, and sequence of operations may all be varied tosuit particular applications. Parts of some embodiments may be includedin, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. While the examplesof dimensions and ranges are considered typical, the various embodimentsare not limited to such dimensions or ranges.

The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.74(b) to allow thereader to quickly ascertain the nature and gist of the technicaldisclosure. The Abstract is submitted with the understanding that itwill not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In the Detailed Description, various features are groupedtogether in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining thedisclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments have more featuresthan are expressly recited in each claim. Thus, the following claims arehereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separate embodiment.

1. A method comprising: receiving a preliminary selection related to a purchase from a user; determining past transactions conducted by the user; determining, using a processor, a promotion for an additional product to present to the user, at a point-of-sale, based on at least one attribute from the past transactions and at least one attribute of the preliminary selection; and publishing the promotion to the user at the point-of-sale prior to the user finalizing the purchase.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one attribute from the past transactions comprises a selection from a group consisting of a feature that the user regularly purchases, a lack of a feature that the user regularly purchases, an indication that the user is an infrequent buyer, and an indication that the user is a new buyer.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one attribute of the preliminary selection comprises a selection from a group consisting of a site used by the user, a country ID of the user, a location ID of the user, a listing format, a listing category, PayPal® accepted for a listing, listing shipping instructions, which listing selling features are selected, whether the listing is catalog based, a listing product ID, a return policy, a listing starting price, a fixed price amount, a listing reserve price amount, a quantity of items for listing, a currency selected for listing, a number of photos, a item sequence number, a item duration; a item re-listed, a item listed in 2nd category, an application ID, a item return policy, a listing tool used, and a user login.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one attribute of the preliminary selection comprises a feature that the user is currently purchasing.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the additional product is an upgraded feature, the determining of the promotion comprising determining the upgraded feature based on the feature that the user is currently purchasing.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional product comprises a feature to promote to the user.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the feature comprises a listing feature selected from a group consisting of bold, highlight, border, appear first on list, picture, multiple pictures, subtitle, gallery, gallery featured, bold, border, highlight, premium package, home page featured, scheduled listings, 10-day duration, list in two categories, gift services, listing designer, basic fee, insertion, picture services, reserve services, and fixed-price services.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional product comprises a feature bundle, the feature bundle being a plurality of features.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising eliminating any feature bundles that comprises a single feature for which the user is not eligible.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one attribute from the past transactions comprises a selection from a group consisting of an amount of feedback, positive feedback percentage, verifiable street address on file, time on file, associated country, date of first listing, date of last listing, total number of listings, total number of listings that sold, date last used PayPal®, date a particular feature was last used, and total number of times a particular feature was used.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the promotion comprises filtering out promotions for features that the user regularly purchases.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the promotion comprises eliminating duplicate promotions, filtering out lower priority conflicting promotions, and prioritizing remaining promotions after the eliminating and filtering.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the purchase is for a listing for placement of an item for sell on a network-based commerce system, the promotion including a discount associated with the listing and the discount is associated with a product to promote the listing.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the promotion comprises: retrieving a rule condition associated with each promotion; analyzing each rule condition, based upon the preliminary selection, to determine rule conditions that apply to the user; and communicating each rule condition that applies to the user.
 15. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising: receiving a preliminary selection related to a purchase from a user; determining past transactions conducted by the user; determining, at a point-of-sale, a promotion for an additional product to present to the user based on at least one attribute from the past transactions and at least one attribute of the preliminary selection; and publishing the promotion to the user at the point-of-sale prior to the user finalizing the purchase.
 16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the determining of the promotion comprises filtering out promotions for features that the user regularly purchases.
 17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the determining of the promotion comprises eliminating duplicate promotions, filtering out lower priority conflicting promotions, and prioritizing remaining promotions after the eliminating and filtering.
 18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the purchase is for a listing for placement of an item for sale on a network-based commerce system, the promotion including a discount associated with the listing and the discount is associated with a product to promote the listing.
 19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the determining of the promotion comprises: receiving a rule condition associated with each promotion; analyzing each rule condition, when the user makes the preliminary selection, to determine rule conditions that apply to the user; and communicating to an interface each rule condition that applies to the user.
 20. A system comprising: means for receiving a preliminary selection related to a purchase from the user; means for determining past transactions conducted by the user; means for determining, at a point-of-sale, a promotion for an additional product to present to the user based on at least one attribute from the past transactions and at least one attribute of the preliminary selection; and means for publishing the promotion to the user at the point-of-sale prior to the user finalizing the purchase. 